Away
by Stormborn Soul
Summary: They were never meant to be together. Future Elven king of the Woodland Realm and human sister to the king of Rohan. Can they find a way to be together without starting a war?
1. Chapter 1

Eowyn put her dress on and stared at herself in the mirror in disdain. Everything was plain, plain gray eyes, plain emerald dress, plain fair hair, plain, plain, plain.

But what did it matter? It was Arwen and Aragorn they'd be staring at today. The man of her dreams was marrying another woman and she did have to admit, she was much better looking, more regal, more gentle.

Nobody knew what to make of Eowyn, the girl who snuck into battle who ended up killing the unkillable Witch-King. It made some people afraid of her, thinking she was some sorceress but most others just thought she was strange.

But as long as she had her best friend Merry by her side today she'd be able to make it through the wedding, even if she only desired being in battle again or being out in the wild, on horse with a sword strapped to her back.

A knock on the door jarred her from her thought and Merry and Pippin walked through. Pippin hugged her, gleeful as ever.

But Merry looked more serious, "How are you holding up?"

"I'll survive, the better woman won and you have to admit those two were meant to be. "

Pippin's always smiling face actually turned sour for a minute, "Look Wyn, staying single just means you your adventures not over yet! Feel sorry for them! They're going to be married, stuck in the same house—"

"Which is a castle!" Eowyn interrupted.

"The same bed," Pippin gave Eowyn a dirty look.

"With silk sheets!" Merry laughed.

"With the same person until they die! And don't either of you dare interrupt me again! What I'm trying to say is that their adventures are over, they'll be bogged down in responsibility, you Eoywn have the whole world before you." Perry winked at Eowyn.

"Right now the only adventure before her is getting really drunk and dancing on tables with the two best drinkers in the entire shire!" Merry laughed grabbing Eowyn's arm. "We won the war, now let's celebrate, a couple pints will numb your pain."

"Merry they're called Pin-ts."

"No Pippin remember they're Pine-ts"

"Merry! They Pin-ts, you're wrong I'm right."

Eowyn grabbed both of their ears, "Both of you shut up!"

* * *

She made it through the ceremony, for the most part because she was reunited with her elder brother Eomer, the King of Rohan now. It was strange, after all the darkness they suffered through the years, it was strange to be…okay. Eomer had the same crooked grin he had when they were children again.

During the ceremony Arwen had looked at her with sad eyes, hating that she'd hurt Eowyn by marrying the man they both loved. Eowyn choked back her tears and smiled, it was okay she tried to tell her with her eyes, as long as he was happy.

She looked away and caught the eye of the elf Legolas, sitting next to his dwarf buddy Gimli, people thought the duo were even stranger than she was. Elves and Dwarves were supposed to hate each other but there was nothing like a world war to bring people together she mused. Gimli sipped from a flask and looked around, making sure no one saw him. Legolas caught her eye and raised any eyebrow at her.

Eowyn scowled and looked back to her brother, who gave her a goofy grin.  
When they all moved to the great hall of the castle, Eowyn dragged Merry and Pippin to Rohan's table. They had told her they were leaving to return to the shire tomorrow, all except Frodo who would journey to Rivendell to leave to the Undying Lands with his Uncle Bilbo.

The mead went out right away and Eowyn made sure they poured her a full pint.

"So hobbits, I hear you fought with the Ents at the Two Towers, is it true? Are they hundreds of feet tall?" Eomer asked, already on his second pint, he had a giant turkey leg in one hand.

"Yes even taller than regular trees and fast moving too, Treebeard their leader was the tallest of them all, twice as tall as the tallest tree you've seen!" Merry slurred, on his third pint.

"But smelly, they smelled like a swamp!" Pippin laughed, almost falling out of his chair.

"I'm telling Treebeard!" Merry slurred. The whole table roared with laughter.

* * *

An hour later and three pints in, Eowyn was feeling very funny. Still herself but not worried about saying or doing the wrong thing. Merry and Pippin were on the table, doing a two-step dance, singing about their adventure with the Ents.

"When we return to Rohan the first thing we're going to do is find me a queen, wait 'til you see it, your people miss you, I hear rumors they've been planning a feast and a ball in your honor, the men want to have a tournament for your hand," Eomer had an arm around his little sister's shoulder.

"Home is home again."

Eowyn just smiled and nodded, not sure that she wanted to go home. She thought about what Pippin had said, settling down could mean her adventures would be over. Her brother seemed perfectly okay with marrying her to the winner of a tournament—probably a stranger but she wasn't, defeating other men didn't make someone marriage material. What if they had a temper? Or a drinking problem? Or no sense of humor?

"I know that look," Eomer sighed. "I'm very proud of what you did, avenging our uncle and killing the unkillable witch-king but war time is over, you don't need to fight anymore."

"I just—" Eowyn started but ever perceptive Merry noticed her discomfort and grabbed her hair and attempted to pull her on the table to dance.

"Come on Wyn!" Pippin yelled.

"It's not proper." Eowyn tried to get Merry to let go.

"Come on, go have fun Sis," Eomer smiled.

Eowyn sighed, drained another pint and heaved herself on the table, thankfully her dress was long and none of her brother's men would get a view of anything they shouldn't.

Merry and Pippin moved on either side of her and linked their arms and began to do a jig. The two were light on their feet and it took a few seconds for a Eowyn to get the rhythm, then they began to sing a song from Rohan she'd known since she was a child, even though it was a little filthy. Giggling, they sang and danced for the entire hall.

It went great for awhile, the whole hall clapped and laughed with them until Eowyn's foot got caught in her long skirts and she tumbled off the table.

"Oooof!" Fortunately she landed on a passed out Gimli.

"Bloody hell, how much did I drink?!" Gimlia groaned and rolled over onto his stomach.

Legolas grabbed her forearms and pulled her off of the dwarf, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine but is Gimli alright?" Eowyn tried to shake his hands off without it being obvious, she turned to look at Gimli.

"He's fine, don't feel badly, a lot of people don't notice him, him being so small and all." Legolas smirked.

"Blast you elf!" Gimli grumbled from the ground. "Can someone bring me another pint?"

Eomer choked on his one mead.

Eowyn smiled and shook her head.

"Would you like to dance?" Legolas asked, gesturing to the people dancing, including the happy couple.

"I don't know, I was just dancing and fell of the table." Eowyn laughed but took his hand anyway and they began to dance.

"What's it like being an elf?" Eowyn asked.

"I don't know how to answer that, Elflike?"

Eowyn quirked an eyebrow, "People say that I look like an elf, being so tall and pale."

"No, you're human tall about 5'7", you'd be considered a tiny little elf and you've got all those funny brown spots on your face. Freckles, right? Elf's don't have imperfections like that." Legolas shrugged.

"How rude!" Eowyn shoved him away, feeling the alcohol even more. She turned to stomp off but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"I didn't ask you to dance for the fun of it, I have a proposition for you," Legolas' blue eyes met hers.

"I heard you and your brother speaking about leaving for Rohan tomorrow, you didn't look happy about it."

"How did you hear all that across a loud room?" Eowyn was starting to get suspicious.

"Elf ears," Legolas smirked. "Anyways, Gimli and I leave on a mission tomorrow first stop is Isengard to check on the ents then into the Fangorn forest and into Moria, we intend to make it safe again. Want to come along?"

"And do what? Cook your meals and polish your armor?" Eoywn huffed.

"No, you're a shield maiden. You'd be joining us in battle."

"Please Sir Legolas, don't joke with me."

"I'm serious, anyone who can kill a witch-king on dragon back is definitely someone I want as an ally," He smiled. "Besides, I heard you once tell Aragorn you didn't want to live in a cage, even one of your king brothers making."

Eowyn sighed, it would break her brother's heart leaving. Especially to go adventure with a dwarf and an elf. It would be scary but at least she'd be living her life the way she wanted. And it didn't mean she'd never see home again. Her beloved people would just have to wait to see her again.

"I'm in." Eowyn nodded, a determined look on her face.

Legolas grinned and turned to nod at Gimli. Gimli, still on the ground gave a weak thumbs up.

"Until tomorrow." Legolas let her go and walked off toward his friend.

* * *

A/N: Please leave a review! They make my day!


	2. Chapter 2

Eowyn woke before any of her kin. She quickly dressed in her riding clothes, pants like she'd worn into battle. She quickly braided her long hair, it reached her waist and was a lot less annoying than when it was loosely bound.

She grabbed some bread and cheese and ate a quick breakfast, slyly moving from one end of the castle to the other.

"What are you wearing?" A deep voice stopped her, she turned to see Faramir. They'd become friends when they'd both been injured after the battle. Eowyn's broken arm had healed far before his extensive wounds and she, Pippin and Merry had stayed long after to nurse him back to health. The three had become close friends with the man.

"Uh clothes?" Eowyn smiled weakly, rubbing her hands together to rid herself of bread crumbs.

"You look like some elf woman." Faramir smiled, ruffling her hair. He was dressed in noble robes, he was now the Steward of Gondor and Aragorn had named him one of his advisors.

"Master Legolas says I'm too freckled to be Elven."

"I hope he didn't mean that as an insult, you have rather nice freckles." Faramir gave her a sly grin.

Eowyn blushed a little, feeling a little uncomfortable. When Faramir was still in the hospital and heavily sedated, he used to tell her how much he liked her but she had taken his confessions as him being heavily medicated.

"I—" Eowyn started but Eomer hugged her from behind and lifting her a good foot off the ground.

"King Aragorn told me of your plans last night, how could you not tell me?" Eomer whined.

She turned to look up at her brother, "I didn't want to disappoint you, I know how badly you wanted me to return home with you."

Eomer let out a shaky breath, "I might not like it but I'm proud of you for doing what you want to do. And unlike Uncle I won't try and stop you but I expect a letter as often as possible, telling me if you're alright."

"What do you mean?" Faramir interrupted, "Where is she going?"

"She's off on a quest with Legolas and Gimli," Eomer turned to the steward, his crown glinted in the morning light.

"You trust them enough to leave them alone with your sister out in the wild?" Faramir stared at the King of Rohan in shock.

Eowyn's brow furrowed, did Faramir really think Legolas and Gimli would attack her or hurt her.

Eomer laughed, "They're a dwarf and an elf, what interest do they have in my human sister?"

"It's not the dwarf I'm worried about, it's the elf, elves and humans have mixed before."

"Yes but Elf women and human men, not the other way around," Eomer looked down at his little sister. "No offense sister but when you have the choice of an elf woman or a human what would you choose?"

"None taken," But she did, she felt the sting of Aragorn choosing Arwen, even though she did care for Arwen.

"Human," Faramir looked into Eowyn's eyes, the startling brown unsettling to her, almost to intense. "I'd choose a human every time."

Eowyn looked down, feeling awkward. Eomer looked from his sister to Faramir and back, his eyebrow quirked and a smile played at his lips. Eowyn met her brother's gaze and frowned at him, she knew that face, he was getting ideas. He better not be.

Faramir was nice and all, she really liked him but in a way he was a lot like Aragorn, they even looked similar. Maybe it was just because she was from Rohan that she thought all men of Gondor looked alike but nonetheless the similarity was startling. She cared for him as a dear friend but beyond that she wasn't sure. She didn't know if his similarities to Aragorn would endear him to her or make her push him away.

"Choose a human for what?" Gimli barreled over. "Target practice? I'd choose an orc or perhaps a boar, I could really go for some bacon and pork chops. Oh bloody hell, now I'm hungry, good going Faramir."

Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn and Arwen walked over.

Eomer put his arm around his little sister, "I hear you two are here to steal my little sister and take her off on some wild adventure. I wish I could come."

"You'd be most welcome," Gimli smirked. "It would be great to have another drinker on the trip."

"I drink," Legolas rolled his eyes.

"Not enough for me!" Gimli growled.

"Because I don't want to look like an idiot, rolling around on the floor waiting for pretty maidens to fall of table and on top of me."

"Why Master Legolas, that certainly could be misconstrued in a rather perverse way," Eomer grinned.

"It would be a brilliant plan if there were any dwarvish women around." Gimli roared with laughter.

Eowyn laughed, "What do dwarf women look like?"

"Like dwarf men but with shorter beards!" Gimli grinned. "See you human and elf men have it all wrong, with these skinny waify women, big stout women are where the strong offspring come from."

"So for all we know, you Gimli are a dwarf woman." Legolas looked down at his friend, a smirk played on his lips.

Gimli growled, getting in Legolas' face, "Blast you elf, you're the feminine one here."

Aragorn got between them, "My friends you need to stop, if I let this go on, we'll be here until midnight."

"We've had the servants pack your bags and ready your horses." Arwen smiled.

Eomer hugged his sister one last time and Eowyn walked over to Legolas and Gimli.

"Eowyn," Aragorn stopped her in her tracks. "If you're off into battle, you'll need weapons."

Eowyn had completely forgotten that her sword and shield had been completely destroyed in battle with the Witch King. A servant handed Aragorn a bright silver sword and shield. Her shield was painted the green of Rohan with a bright golden horse in the center. Her sword was beautiful, sharp and terrifying but feminine with gold filigree vines covering the silver blade. The hilt was covered in emeralds and had Witch Slayer carved into it.

Tears almost came to her eyes, "Thank you."

"Arwen forged the sword herself," Aragorn smiled and gestured his wife over.

Arwen smiled and handed Eowyn a bow, "I thought going on quest with Legolas would be a perfect time to learn to use a bow. I hope you like it."

Eowyn took the bow and hugged the elf woman, "You two are better friends than I deserve."

"Us warrior women need to stick together, slay enough orcs for the both of us." Arwen smiled.

"Thank you."

* * *

They had already been on the road for a day, before the wonder of the King and Queen of Gondor's gifts started to wear off.

Whenever they would stop, Eowyn would unsheathe her sword and swing it around for a bit. It was perfectly light, sharp and dangerous but not too heavy for her like a man's sword.

It was nearly nightfall when Legolas grabbed her sword.

"Careful! I almost cut your hand off," Eowyn growled, she dropped her sword and grabbed his hand. "Are you alright."

When she looked up from his pale hand, Legolas was looking at her strangely, his gray eyes fixed on her face.

"What?"

"I'm fine," He pulled his hand back. "Let's spar."

Eowyn sheathed her sword and crossed her arms, "With me using a sword and you a bow? How does that work."

He grinned and pulled to short swords from hip sheaths, "I'll use these."

"And here I thought you only knew how to use a bow," Eowyn unsheathed her sword once more and swung downward at Legolas.

Legolas responded more quickly than she thought he would, crossing his swords into an X blocking hers. He knocked her sword back and slashed at her. She caught herself and swung again, almost slashing him across the chest. He jumped back just in time and laughed and caught her sword arm.

He looked down at her as she struggled to get free and slash at him. He gave her an evil smile and a chill went down her spine.

"Got you." He smirked.

"Jer—Whoa!" Legolas was knocked on top of Eowyn, Gimli had knocked him over. All three swords flew to the side and clanged onto the forest floor.

"Haha I win!" Gimli walked off and pulled a flask from his bag, sipping from it he began to polish his favorite ax.

"Bloody imbecile dwarf." Legolas snickered, propping himself up on his arms.

Eowyn rubbed her back, "Ouch."

Legolas pulled himself to his feet, with the kind of grace only an elf could have, a grace of movement Eowyn lacked. She heaved herself to her feet and brushed the dirt off her dark green leggings.

Gimli threw his empty flask to the side, "I guess we'll camp here this night, shall we eat what we have left in our packs or should I hunt us a boar?"

"Boar sounds rather delicious." Eowyn's stomach growled.

Gimli stood up, "Alright then, I will—"

"Shh!" Legolas cut of his friend and looked around. "There are orcs nearby."

"Thank the gods for elf ears," Gimli jumped up, grabbed his ax, ready for battle.

Eowyn gulped and pulled her sword from the ground, it would be her first battle since the War of the Ring. Hopefully she wouldn't disappoint Gimli and Legolas and more importantly herself.

* * *

A/N: Please review so I know people are liking the story! Many thanks to tommyginger, annafan and sonzai tanz for reviewing last time! :D

I also have another LOTR story up if you're interested, it's an Aragorn/OC story but Legolas/Eowyn are a side pairing in it. Eowyn was introduced in the most recent chapter! :]


	3. Chapter 3

Legolas drew his bow and notched an arrow, his perceptive eyes swept the clearing, "Eowyn, I know your broken arm and ribs just healed, it's only forty orcs, if you want to sit this one out stay behind me."

"Not on your life, I'm ready to fight." Her grip tightened on Witch-slayer, Eowyn was very nervous but she couldn't let the two males see it. Forty orcs? And they weren't afraid?

Legolas killed six before they even got through the dense cover of trees, releasing his arrows so quickly that Eowyn couldn't see.

Legolas turned to sneer at the dward, "Six!"

Gimli growled and narrowed his eyes at his best friend, "You just wait until they actually get here. I'll defeat you!"

The orcs led by one Urukhai rushed over and Gimli beheaded one and swung to get another his axe _zinged _through the air, "Two"

"Ten!" Legolas ran around the clearing picking off the orcs.

He infuriated Gimli even more and the dwarf began to fight even harder.

A few rushed to Eowyn, thinking she was an easy target. They were all much larger and heavier than her. She jabbed one in the belly with her sword in her right hand, hearing the crunch of ribs. She bashed one in the face with her shield with her left arm. She was already out of breath, still out of shape from her time on bedrest after the war.

"13!" Gimli yelled.

Legolas slit one's throat with his short swords, "17!"

An orc rushed her, hitting her right hand with the but of his spear, knock the sword from her hand. She barely covered herself with her shield when he brought his spear down on her, it stabbed the shield with a _ting _.

She bashed him in the face with her shield and he dropped.

She saw a Urukhai go after Legolas approaching him from behind, he was all the way across the clearing. She stupidly dropped the sword and pulled the bow she didn't know how to use off her shoulder and with shaking hands she was able to notch an arrow.

She released it and it flew through the arrow and for a moment she felt releaved she was able to shoot. Until it hit.

Not only did it miss the Urukhai it hit Legolas in the right butt cheek. He barely reacted, just a slight wince but it spurned him into slitting the Urukhai's throat. Gimli killed the last couple orcs and rushed over.

Gimli looked at his friend and the small pool of blood that stained the back of his pant's leg.

"Good going lass, I love it!" Gimli chortled. "The elf will never live it down, he's got an arrow in his ass! Hahahahahaha."

Eowyn rushed over, her bow hung limply in her shaking hands, she almost tripped over orc bodies, "I'm so sorry, I can't believe that I shot you, I'm so very sorry."

"It's alright," The Elf grit his teeth, his eyes dark. "Just promise you won't use weapon you don't know _how_ to use from now on."

Legolas turned to Gimli, "Get this arrow out of me."

Through his deep belly laughs Eowyn could make out, "Two person job."

Legolas returned his blue eyes to Eowyn, "Can you help Gimli remove the arrow?"

"Of course," Eowyn wrapping her bow back around her shoulder.

-

Ten minutes later found them with Legolas bent over a log, Gimli had cut through the pants to pull them off enough to be able to stich the elf up. Eowyn diverted her gaze, anything to avoid looking at the Elf's ass.

"Eowyn I'm ready for your help," Gimli beckoned. Eowyn approached. Gimli was holding the skin taught with one meaty hand and the other had a compress ready to control the bleeding.

"Legolas are you ready for me to pull the arrow out?" Eowyn asked meekly, she felt horrible for shooting the elf, even if he was kind of jerk.

"Just get on with it," He sighed, his voice muffled from his face being down and nearly in the dirt.

Eowyn reached down to grip the arrow, not around the shaft but the arrowhead, most of it was lodged in his skin but there was just enough to get a good grip.

She tugged as hard as she could back, pulling the arrow out. Crimson blood trickled down his leg even further. The elf barely grunted as Gimli pressed hard with his compress to stop the bleeding.

Gimli made her grab a bottle of alcohol from his bag and had her pour it over the wound to sterilize it. Even Elvess could get sick from an infected wound apparently.

Legolas was a trooper through all of it, not once did he complain or even make a noise as Gimli stiched the wound.

"Oh my friend," Gimli snickered as he stiched. "You will never live this down."

"Is that so?" Legolas countered, his voice was normal, not even a bit altered from the wound, pain or blood loss. "Like at Helm's Deep when you were too small to jump across a ledge and Aragorn had to toss you?"

"Damn!" Gimli growled. "He promised not to tell you, on his honor too!"

Legolas laughed, "Don't worry dwarf, he hasn't broken your trust, I overheard him telling Arwen at the reception."

"Well I'm finished, you probably shouldn't sit or lie on it but that's probably already obvious." Gimli took a swig from the alcohol bottle.

Legolas stood, a perfect image of self-control and strength, not fazed a bit by his wound. Gimli handed the alcohol bottle to Legolas, "How about a shot to dull your pain?"

Legolas shrugged and took a large gulp and handed it back, he looked to Eowyn, "I'll be right back, need to put on new pants and all, then we can set off again."

"Weren't we going to stay here for the night?" Eowyn asked.

Gimli resumed drinking, "Well fuck we can't now, there's orcs about, if we go through the night we can reach Fangorn a lot quicker too."

"That makes sense," Eowyn nodded, watching Legolas retreat into the bushes, holding his torn pants up.

An hour later they were back on horseback. Against Eowyn and Gimli's pleading, Legolas still road his horse, putting a pillow under his injured butt cheek.

They tried to keep the pace slow for him but he adamantly refused for the first few hours into the night. Finally, they slowed enough to where Eowyn could adjust to her surroundings. The land was getting more and more beautiful, she was in a wild place. Not somewhere that had been contorted and ruined by mankind. The colors were more vibrant, even the stars shown brighter into the sky.  
She closed her eyes and let the wind carress her face, even the air itself was fresher.

* * *

A/N: I'm an update machine! If you liked the chapter please take a minute to review! They really make my day :]

Thanks to blackunicorne and tommyginger for reviewing last time!

A response to reviews that I can't reply too.

Tommyginger: Thanks! It's my favorite part about writing LOTR stories :] Gimli and Legolas banter is just so much fun. Yes, Eomer's okay for _now, _I don't want to spoil it but he'll have a change of heart later on!


	4. Chapter 4

"We're entering the Fangorn." Legolas announced.

Eowyn hadn't needed it, the forest around them was growing more dense and wild. The trees were growing taller and twisting and knotting together at the top, blocking out a great deal of the sun, only a few stray beams of light lit there path through the forest.

The dense forest started to creak and moan, the wind was full of whistles.

Legolas looked back and smirked at Eowyn, "Can you hear the trees whispering."

"This reminds we of when we in Galadriel's forest," It was Gimli who spoke, his voice was sleepy but Eowyn was sure he was hungover, definitely not something new to him.

"It's called the Lorien Forest," Legolas corrected, readjusting on his seat, his wound must hurt. Eowyn still felt a little guilty.

"Merry and Pippin told me it was beautiful," Eowyn smiled. "And that Queen Galadriel has a magic mirror."

Legolas nodded to her, "It shows the past, present or future. Queen Galadriel can command it to show the viewer whatever she desires but what it shows without being told too is usually what ends up being true."

"I saw me saving Moria and making it a safe haven for dwarves once again," Gimli pulled a flask from his belt, she wasn't sure if drinking so much was normal for dwarves or just Gimli. Either way that was one way to cure a hangover she smiled, her uncle used to call drinking more to prevent a hangover, _hair of the dog _.

"Are all the futures you see in the mirror true?" The mirror idea fascinated Eowyn, she wanted to see her future. Who wouldn't?

"It depends, there's a good chance they usually are, depends on the choices you make," Legolas looked at her strangely, an odd look in his gray eyes. She didn't know what to call that emotion but it was a strong one. It made her nervous and she couldn't help but gaze back. It was if he wanted to tell her something but he couldn't

Gimli broke them from their reverie, "What did you see in the mirror Legolas?"

"I don't want to speak of it." Legolas spurred his horse foward, leaving Gimli and Eowyn behind.

Eowyn and Gimli looked to eachother and shrugged.

Gimli grumbled, "Bloody elves, being moody and unpredictable is a dangerous combination."

-

It wasn't long before they reached Isendard, they broke through the trees and she saw the massive tower for the first time. It was tall, made of the darkest iron she'd ever seen, it didn't shine in the sun at all, it just stood as a dark beacon against the blue sky and the surrounding folliage.

Merry had told her, the last time he'd seen it there were a good ten feet of water covering the entirety of Isendard, now it was marshy. Murky water covered some areas and some others were bright green, ready to be planted.

A fifty foot tall tree approached them and Eowyn, eyes wide, looked at the creature. Legolas and Gimli greeted it.

"Master Elf, Master Dwarf," It spoke, nodding its massive head. "It is good to see you again. And who is this?"

It turned to look at her with it's giant yellow eyes. She froze under its scrutiny.

"I'm Eowyn of Rohan." She smiled shyly at it. She was talking to a tree. How surreal!

"She's travelling with us Treebeard," Gimili explained. "We're here to check on how things are at Isengard and help you if you need it. Then we will proceed to Moria."

Treebeard nodded, "Well we are fine, that cowardly little wizard is still locked in his towers. His magic is weak and he is defenseless. We are fine but could you help us plant trees in this area? We want to cover Isengard so densely no one will be able to find it."

"Whatever you need us to do," Legolas smirked at the Ent.

Treebeard led them to nearby clearing full of Ents with their arms full of tree seeds. They were friendly to Gimli and her but all bowed to Legolas. Gimli quietly whispered to her that Ents worshipped Elves in a way, that legend said Elves had taught Ents to walk and speak, "curing them of their dumbness" the ents would say and worshipped Elves.

"You can leave the horses over here, we have plenty of oats and apples for the creatures to eat," Treebeard rumbled and pointed a branchy finger in that direction.

Eowyn dismounted her horse and was up to her thighs in muddy water. She looked around and saw her friends were in a similar predicament, the water was chest high on Gimli and calf high on Legolas. She had never noticed how tall he was, he was easily taller than Aragorn and her brother. Legolas caught her looking at him and she looked back at Treebeard.

The Ents started to hand them armfulls of seeds, tiny regular tree seeds and massive Ent seeds alike. Treebeard taught them at what depth they should be planted so that they would grow but wouldn't dehydrate easily.

Six hours later when they had planted as many armfulls as they could and were covered in mud head-to-toe Treebeard had given them a wicked grin and handed them satchels full of pollen and flower seeds.

Her and Gimli started to get grumpy, mumbling about mutiny and where the hell lunch and dinner were. Gimli was especially keen on finding out if the Ents had any of the orc's liquer left over.

Eowyn felt disgusting, sure she was having fun but her entire body was covered in mud, she couldn't see her skin color anymore and her hair was soaked with muddy water and heavy on her sun burnt scalp.

Gimli and Legolas snickered at how sun burnt she was.

"Instead of the shield maiden of Rohan we should call you the Tomato of Isengard," Gimli grinned.

"Ha-ha, you're a comedic genius," Eowyn put a hand on her hip and cocked an eyebrow at him. "You're better with jokes than you are with an axe."

"She's got you there dwarf," Legolas laughed. "You hand over those weapons and put on some motley clothes and bells and be the jester of Moria instead."

Gimli roared with laughter at the thought, "That's one way to kill goblins and orcs!"

"I'd live to see that," Eowyn laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun. Her childish brother, the loss of her uncle and cousin, the unrequited love she felt for Aragorn, missing Merry and Pippin... it was all gone for a little while.

-

They didn't finish until well after dark. Dark was when it gone exceedingly difficult. The moon hung low and bright in the sky but its milky light bouncing off the murky water wasn't enough to light their way. Treebeard said they had helped plenty and led them to the small house that the Fellowship had stayed at the last time they were there.

It wasn't long before her and Gimli had a small dinner going for them. When it was ready they all sat informally around the small fireplace in the living room, on a bear skin rug on the floor.

Being so close together made her realize that none of them had bathed in more than two weeks. She put down her food, the thought had disgusted her so much.

"Are there any hotsprings close for me to bathe?" She wondered aloud, not expecting an answer.

Legolas nodded, swallowing a mouthfull of food, "About ten minutes East of this cottage."

"What? You want to bathe?! That's the chickens way out, we're living in the wild now girl you better get used to it."

"I'm sorry but I'll fight orcs better clean," Eowyn grinned, getting to her feet and gathering clean clothing and a towel for herself. "I probably smell horrendous."

Legolas smirked and nodded, "Agreed."

"Thanks," She gave the elf a dirty look, laughing.

"But you smell like a princess!" Gimli argued.

"Well I am a princess so whatever I smell like, I'll always smell like a princess." She scratched her head.

"Exactly."

Eowyn shook her head, "You Gimli, are completely ridiculous, I love you for it but I need a bath and no one will stop me not even Sauron himself could."

"That firey eye of his might've warmed your bath water though." Eowyn shook her head at Legolas and left the cottage. The two were an insane pair but she had never had as much fun.

She had her sword strapped to her back just in case. She was almost sure she was safe, with all the Ents stomping around the forest but she felt better safe than sorry.

Exactly as Legolas had said, the hot spring was ten minutes east of the cottage. Surrounded by sharp boulders that looked silvery in the moonlight, the hot springs bubbled invitingly. A hot bath had never been so appealing.

With a quick look around, she stripped and hopped into the water. It was scalding hot, perfect against the chilly breeze. She closed her eyes and sunk deeper into the water for a few minutes before unbraiding her long hair. Her blonde hair floated around her like a fan, it looked like pale gold against the water.

All the tension eased from her body, maybe it was the heat or that it was her first bath in a few weeks but it was the best one in her life.

She washed the muck from her hair and body as best she could and then continued to lounge. When her fingers and toes started to prune she decided to head back. It would be an early morning and she wanted plenty of rest.

She rose from the water. She walked naked towards her makeshift towel, forgetting she was by herself in the woods. Her eyelids were growing heavy, she was so relaxed her body was ready for sleep. She reached down to grab her towel and opened her eyes.

Right across from her was a stunned Legolas.

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A/N: Let me know what you think! and about typos!

:]


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**__** Yay an update! I hope you like this chapter, we finally get into the plot a bit more into this one. Let me know what you think :] **_

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Instead of doing what a sane woman would do when caught naked by a man and cover up, Eowyn's mind clouded in shock and grabbing her towel she ran into the forest.

Wounded, Legolas couldn't keep up with her and she quickly evaded him.

She ran far, turning and spinning wildly in the trees. She grew more and more lost in the wilderness with every passing second. The forest was alive with the moans of the trees and the cries of animals in the night. She ran further, her heart felt as if it was beating in her throat.

She only stopped when she was out of breath, her cheeks burnt in embarrassment. In her society, a woman was only supposed to be seen that way by the man who she was married too. The shame…how horribly awkward. How was she supposed to travel with him now?

She covered herself in the towel. She had run barefoot through the forest and now she was injured too. Her feet and ankles were covered in scratches, mud and blood caked them. She let out a shaky breath and looked at her surroundings. Thick, dense forest like before but now the trees were so tall she could just barely see the moonlight. There was just enough light to guide her to a nearby stream. Deep and fast for a stream, it seemed the perfect thing to clean her feet it. She sat on a water-smoothed rock and cleaned her wounds.

It was a cold night and the brisk stream wasn't helping, she wrapped herself tighter in her towel. It was then that she realized she had run off without her sword as well. Cursing her stupidity, she propped her arms on her knees and her head in her hands. Not only was she lost but she was defenseless as well. What if she was killed? It would prove to all those people that didn't approve of her being a shield maiden or her going into battle right. She couldn't let the happen.

A glowing in the stream knocked her from her thoughts. Furrowing her eyebrows, she stood and followed the light. She hopped from smooth stone to smooth stone with a grace she didn't possess before the mission until she found it. It was a glowing round stone in the water.

She poked it with a stick, it didn't move. She looked around and took off her towel and reached into the water and pulled it out with the towel.

With a gasp, she almost dropped it. Just like Pippin had found, she too had found a seeing-stone outside of Isengard. She had thought Saruman only had one but apparently he had collected more than that.

They were dark things, used to spy on your enemies or communicate with people across great distances.

Her towel had grown sopping wet and it fell out of her hands. She managed to catch it with her foot before it was swept downstream and caught the seeing-stone with her bare hands.

_Bad idea_, Pippin had gone into a seizure when he had found the other.

Eowyn grimaced, waiting for her impending doom. It never came. She turned it about in her hands to examine it. She'd have to give it to her friends and probably have to take it Gandalf for safe keeping, the wizard would know what to do.

The stone was glowing with a swirl of black, gray and the lightest blue. It looked like a blur of the night sky.

_Eowyn of Rohan this is not where you are supposed to be. _Shock ran through her at the deep voice, made her as still as a stone.

"Who are you?" She responded.

_The prisoner in the tower, guarded by living plants. Saruman the Great. _If he was communicating with her he must have a third seeing-stone. Maybe he wasn't as powerless as her allies thought he was. Her eyes narrowed, she wondered how deep the dark wizards treachery went.

"There is nothing great about you," She snarled, "You're evil."

_And you've picked the wrong path. _

Curiousity got the better of her, "What do you mean?"

_Fate had chosen you to stay in Gondor, marry Faramir and help Rohan form a lasting alliance with Gondor. Have six children and die happily in your sleep at the age of 72. _

She wasn't sure about marrying Faramir, he was a nice man but too similar to Aragorn that it made her chest hurt. Sure he was attractive and quite the gentleman but her heart didn't beat strongly for him, she wasn't sure she felt any click between them. And to spend her life in Gondor, near the man she'd loved and lost seemed far too painful. Nonetheless, it was odd that the wizard knew who she was.

"And what of my future now?"

_Uncertain and dangerous for sure, you picked the wrong time to strike out on your own, maiden. There's a war brewing, not just with the orcs and goblins you hunt but with the elves as well. _

"Elves?" Elves were peaceful with humans, they had settled back peacefully in their own kingdoms after the War of the Ring.

_You, maiden, are pathetically uninformed. The Elves are blaming the humans for the War and the misfortune that has been wrought upon the world. They move to scourge the Middle Earth of all humans even you. Anyone you have left to love in your life with burn and die, killed by the creatures they once called friends, the creatures you yourself used to call friends. You too will die cold and alone, betrayed by the Elves. _

"I don't believe a word of this!" She screeched into the night. And in anger through the stone down. The force of her throw made it shatter, exploding in a blast of blue and white so powerful it knocked her back into the water. Wide eyed, she grabbed her wet towel and ran back in the direction she had thought she came from.

Eventually she found her way back to the small cabin. Legolas sat on the ground legs crossed and her silver and gold sword sat across his lap. His head was bowed and his eyes closed, he looked to be asleep. Her clothes were in a neatly folded pile next to him, washed and dry.

"Eowyn," He whispered without looking up. It wasn't a question but she answered it anyways.

"Yes," She was shaky and embarrassed, what do you say to someone who was spying on you bathing?

As if reading her thoughts he responded, "I wasn't spying on you like a lecher if that's what you're wondering. You had been gone for nearly two hours and I went to check on you."

"Oh." She looked down, relieved and surprisingly a bit disappointed. Why would he spy on her anyways? He was an elven prince, he probably had a dozen beautiful elf women ready to throw themselves at his feet.

"I looked away the second I realized you were nude," He sounded a little uncomfortable but she appreciated he was manly enough to speak of it. "I hope you don't feel I've dishonored you in any way."

She crossed her arms, "I don't feel that way but I appreciate you explaining it, it makes me feel better."

He handed her, her clothing and led her inside, "Now go in and get dressed before you catch your death."

She nodded and took her clothes, eager to not be naked around the tall elf any longer. She couldn't think clearly.

The cabin was nice and warm, lit with glowing firelight. Gimli was passed out and snoring in a mass of sleeping bags and travel pillows, wrapped like a caterpillar in a cocoon.

After she had dressed she returned to his side, "I have something important to tell you."

She relayed what had happened at the stream to him. He looked away during the Faramir part and she wondered why. Did he not like the idea of her and Faramir together? No, she was probably reading too much into it.

They both huddled closer to the fire but still a safe distance away from each other.

"He spoke partial truth, after the war my father wanted me to return to the Mirkwood with utmost haste. Queen Galadriel and King Elrond have left for the Undying Lands and their replacements and my father are blaming humanity for the cause of this mess and are amassing their kingdoms against the humans. They hate them like they hate dwarves now."

"Do you?"

"Does it seem like I do?" He gave her a scathing look, as if she was the stupidest creature in Middle Earth.

She shook her head, "Stupid question. Do my brother and Aragorn know?"

"Of course," He grinned. "Why do you think Aragorn and Lady Arwen wed so quickly? They were trying to ease the tension."

"I thought it was because Queen Arwen is pregnant."

"Well I'm sure that factored into it a smidge." Legolas smirked.

Eowyn quirked and eyebrow and gave him a bad attempt at a smile, "You think you're just so witty don't you?"

"No, I don't think that," He grimaced at her, "I know it."

He continued, "Anyways human-elf relations should be the least of your concerns for now, now tomorrow we head off toward Moria."

"I'm going to try to get some sleep then," She got up and walked over to her little area on the floor where she had set up her bed earlier. "Good night."

Legolas was standing next to the fire about to put it out, his gray eyes gleamed with fire light, "Good night Eowyn."

She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep, her embarrassment still tickling at the back of her mind.

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_**Plotting, writing and editing takes a long time, please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story! :] It makes all my effort worth it! :]**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: **__**Two updates in one day! Wooo! Anyways, this chapter is reallllllyyyy long! I hope you like it! :] This story is starting to get more serious but we still have Gimli to lighten the mood for us :] Let me know what you think! **_

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Morning came sooner than Eowyn hoped. Gimli nugged her awake with his booted foot and grumpiness settled into Eowyn. She sat up and gave him a scathing glare. He just grinned and chortled, walking out of the cabin, whistling a merry tune.

She was kind of missing proper society, where men treated her with respect, where they always called her lady or would always beg her pardon. Now she was considered one of the men, a soldier, no special treatment for her. Freedom was a double edged sword. She sighed and rubbed her temples.

No, no, no, freedom was far more worthwhile than being treated like a lady.

She rose and quickly got ready for the journey ahead. Stepping outside, she found that Gimli and Legolas had already prepared their mares for the trip, saddle bags packed and full. The two were in their full battle regalia, covered head to toe in weapons. Shiny armor and glittering mithril glinted at her eyes, the morning sun was already very bright even through the dense forest.

"Morning," She smiled to the two, careful to avoid looking too long at Legolas.

"Heyo, Eo," Gimli smiled swinging himself onto his horse. His horse whinied in frustration at the clumsy dwarf.

"Eowyn," Legolas smirked. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Eowyn gave him a fierce grin. She too was wearing her full on armor. Arwen had made her elven armor while she'd still been in the House of Healing. The green and gold dyed mithril hugged her body like a snug dress. She was ready to kill some orcs.

"Did you put on your thermal clothing under your armor?" Gimli's eyes grazed her. "We're going through the Hithaeglir mountains for a time, they're misty and cold, you won't last a minute without some warmth."

"Of course," She nodded. "Will the horses be alright?"

"They should be fine staying with us until we go directly into Moria."

They started to ride northwest, toward the mountains. The trip was a much shorter one than going from Gondor to Isengard. Or it would've been except for the crippling awkward silence on Eowyn's part at least. Legolas and Gimli chattered and insulted each other like they normally did but Eowyn couldn't look at Legolas without getting a little embarrassed. Keen to not let Gimli suspect anything had happened, Eowyn gave up on speaking to the elf all together.

Eowyn had spaced out, ignoring her surroundings, letting her intelligent mare lead the way, Eowyn almost didn't realize her companions had stopped until she had almost ran into what they were trying to avoid.

_HISSSSSSSS_

Eowyn knew that sound. The sound of a dragon hiss, just like the Witch King's beast.

Eowyn tumbled from her horse just before it attacked her mare. The gigantic silvery beast was biting into the horse, swalling chunks of mare like a bird would. The mare cried and Eowyn felt horrible, she had gotten attached to the horse Gimli had given her.

Eowyn's right hand went to her sword and she slowly started to back away, careful to avoid the dragon's gaze.

"Eowyn!" Gimli yelled from a good twenty feet back, he dismounted and pulled his favorite axe from his back. Legolas was quicker, his bow at the ready, he released a stream of arrows at the creature.

The creature shook off the arrows like it was nothing, too busy with its kill.

Eowyn was nearly away when she kicked over a stone, the small thump alerted the dragon to her presence.

It looked at her, it's blood red eyes stared at her in hunger.

"It was one of Sauron's pets! It must've flown from Mordor in search of food!" Legolas yelled. "He bred them for centuries, making them as strong and volatile as possible!"

"Let me at the bloody oversized lizard! That was my favorite horse!" Gimli grumbled, his grip tight on his axe.

The dragon hissed at Eowyn again, eyes full of hatred, almost as if it knew Eowyn had killed it's bretheren.

"I've killed one of you before," Eowyn smirked drawing her sword, Witch Slayer. With a _shing_, she had Witch Slayer poised up at the beast, two hands gripping the Elven blade. "Don't test me, beast!"

It walked toward her and Eowyn backed up until she bumped into Gimli.

She gave Gimli a sideways glance and her friend grinned at her, "We can take the bastard."

"Nice warmup for Moria," Eowyn laughed. Despite her bravado, she was nervous as hell. She'd nearly died facing one of these beasts before.

It screeched at them and they both yelled back, ready for battle. It attacked with its teeth and claws. Gimli dove for its belly, trying to slash it open. Taller, Eowyn rose her sword over her head, trying to strike its head. But the beast was smart, successfully dodging them.

With its massive wings, it tripped Eowyn and sent her flying into Gimli. Gimli growled in frustration, shook Eowyn off and lunged at the dragon again. It did the same to him, with a slash of his wing the dwarf was on his back, the wind knocked out of him. The dragon lunged at the dwarf with his claws.

Legolas stood back for a time, releasing arrows. Finally, an arrow hit the beast in its right eye. With a screech the beast backpeddled away from them, slashing it claws all around.

Eowyn took her chance, she snuck under its flailing claws, as if dancing with the beast she ducked and weaved around it, sneaking up on its blind eye. She struck it in its neck, it howled it pain, using its left claw to shake Eowyn off. Gimli recovered and was quick to slash into the dragon's belly.

They didn't relinquish their holds on the beast until they were sure it's heart had stopped. Out of breath, Eowyn dropped her sword and let out a deep breath. That had been terrifying. Legolas was in front of her within the blink of an eye, she hadn't even seen him move.

"Are you alright, Eowyn?" He asked, his silver eyes glazed all over her and Eowyn was too thrilled to be embarassed.

"A little shook up," She shrugged, giving him a weak smile. "But otherwise unharmed."

"I am glad," Legolas nodded and turned his attention to a disgruntled Gimli.

"What are dragons doing this far north? And past human territory?!" Growled Gimli.

Eowyn stared at the dead dragon. As far as she knew wild dragons were insanely rare even in the wild but to find one on the road?

_Odd,_ These times were supposed to be peaceful.

"What is a dragon doing this far North?" Gimli growled, mimicking her thoughts.

Legolas turned to look at Gimli, "Do you think dragons have tried to go into Moria?"

Gimli shook his head, "There's not enough gold there to attract a dragon."

"How do you know?" Eowyn interrupted them. If a dragon was wandering the roads for food, they might think the goblins and orcs of Moria would make a tasty snack.

"What do you mean?" Gimli turned to her. "We were just there."

Eowyn shrugged, "You were running through it fighting orcs and trying to escape the Balrog, did you have time to look for gold?"

"No," Gimli looked off curiously.

"She's right," Legolas gave Eowyn a slight smile. "You never know what we may find there."

"Fuck, what if its mother is close by? It wasn't hard to kill the wee thing but a full grown dragon? We'd die," Gimli swore.

"_That_," Eowyn pointed at the beast. "Was a baby dragon?"

"Yes haven't you heard Smaug? The monstrous dragon who could barely fit in the halls of Erebor?" Legolas asked. "Most gigantic monster I've seen."

"Yes," It was weird thinking he was so old, she must look like a child to him.

"And you two just plan to waltz into Moria, ready to fight not only hordes of orcs and goblins but possibly gigantic, monstrous dragons as well?" She stared at them in disbelief, they had known all along what they were expecting and didn't show any fear at all.

Gimli crossed her arms, "Yes lassie, you in or out?"

"In of course," Eowyn would go to the ends of the Middle Earth for her friends. But were they well prepared enough? Could a single dwarf, elf and woman be able to win this battle. Doubt started to fill Eowyn.

Suddenly, a dragon's shriek filled the air and Legolas pulled Eowyn with him and Gimli dragged the two remaining horses behind a gigantic boulder. Slyly peeking out, they saw a black dragon land next to it. Another fire dragon. It howled and nudged the creature, trying to wake it. Eowyn almost felt bad for it until the black dragon started to eat its dead cohort.

Gimli's face wrinkled up in distaste, "Another baby."

Legolas directed them through a small passage off the main road, it was a bumpy trail and the horses seemed frightened so they trudged forward on foot.

Finally after what felt like hours Legolas stopped, "Those creatures are starving to death, not that their master is gone, there's no one to feed them. They've gone rabid and feral in the wild."

"What's the plan? We can't take the main road because of the dragons but who knows what lies in these woods," Gimli looked around suspiciously.

"What indeed," They heard a voice from behind. They all turned to see a group of elves, mostly dark haired save for one blonde. Stray elves from Rivendell most likely.

"Elves of Rivendell? What are you doing on this side of the Misty Mountains?" Gimli asked. "What quest has Lord Elrond sent you on?"

The blonde elf spoke, "Elrond has left to the Undying Lands, we are led by another now."

They turned to Legolas and the one that had spoken before spoke again, "Prince Legolas of the Greenwood, why are you cavorting with these lesser beings?"

"Last elf that talked to like that to me, walks with a cane now," Gimli growled but Eowyn put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. Was this what Saruman was warning her of? The humans were already few in number, they couldn't afford to fight the elves. Aragorn's kingdom seemed safe, his wife elven and one of his ancestors as well. But her kingdom of Rohan was completely human, would the elves focus their disdain on Rohan? Eowyn wondered.

She shook her head, she couldn't even entertain the thought of something happening to her elder brother.

Legolas cast them his darkest glare, "Do I know you?"

"No, but we're elves and even strangers would be better company than these two," Another elf spoke.

"And why is that so?" Legolas asked.

The first elf spoke again, "Because they're a nasty dwarf and a human whore."

The events that followed the word 'whore' played out before Eowyn so quickly she almost didn't have time to catch was happened. Legolas unsheathed his two short swords and lunged at the elf, the elf attempted to duck and block Legolas' strike but he wasn't quick enough to duck. Legolas kicked the crouched elf in the face and knocked him into a tree. He held both blades at the elf's throat.

His friends tried to attack Legolas but Gimli held up his axe, "Just try it laddies! Or you'll really see how nasty a dwarf can be!"

"Prince Legolas, I didn-didn't m-m-mean to offend your g-grace," The injured elf tried to calm Legolas, his face bloody and his teeth were chipped from the kick. Eowyn was in complete shock, she'd never seen the calm elf lose his temper. Sure he was strong and had killed many in battle but had never done so with unnecessary violence.

"A wise person would judge people based on their actions, not their species. Based on your actions, you're a vile piece of excrement that I would scrape off my shoe," Legolas pointed one of his sword tips at his two friends. "These two have proven themselves as trustworthy friends and great warriors. You will apologize to them."

Legolas looked at the rest, "All of you will apologize too."

They all turned to Eowyn and Gimli to apologize. Their eyes begrudging and full of disdain.

The last to apologize was the one at sword point.

"Go ahead, don't be shy now," Legolas' face was a blank mask, as he pressed the blades edges into the elf just slightly.

"I'm terribly sorry to have insulted your persons," The elf squeeked, "I beg for your forgiveness."

"I couldn't hear you," Legolas' still held his swords at his neck.

"I-I," The elf began but Eowyn stepped forward.

"L-Legolas," She grabbed his right arm. "Stop this, don't fall to their level. You're beyond this."

The usually stoic and calm elf seemed to be having trouble reigning himself in, it was completely shocking to her.

He let out a deep breath between grit teeth and withdrew his swords. Flipping them in his hands he gracefully slid them back in their hilts. He gave the elves his dirtiest look, "You better thank the lady for saving you lives today, this kind of imbecilic intolerance is deserving of death."

He stormed off and the elves quickly fled in the direction of the black dragon. Eowyn turned and looked to Gimli, "Wait, we have to stop them, they're going to run right into the dragon."

"Oh just let it be Eyo," He laughed. "They'll live… maybe"

Eowyn sighed, "Should we set up camp for the night? It's getting a bit dark."

"Aye," Gimli tied the horses to a nearby tree and they started to unpack. Before long it was dark and they started a fire. The night was cold, Eowyn put on the largest fur cloak she had brought which wasn't that warm at all.

Gimli noticed and passed her his flask, "Take a sip, it'll warm you right up."

Eowyn gave him a grin and took a swig. She handed it back coughing, it was strong whiskey but he had been right, it warmed her right up. They cooked some boar and started to eat it, passing the flask of whiskey back and forth. Her mind started to get a little fuzzy.

"Legolas has been gone for quite some time, maybe I should check on him," Eowyn wondered aloud.

Gimli had laid down on the ground next to the fire, a little too close Eowyn thought, "Do what you will lassie, I'll hold down the fort here."

"Maybe you should scoot a little further back form the fire my friend, I don't want you getting smoke sickness," She gave him a sweet grin.

He obeyed and rolled another foot away, "What would we do without you around to mother hen us?"

She laughed and walked off in the direction of Legolas. He had left an easy trail to follow, a sign Eowyn took as him being really angry. After about a mile she found him standing by a small creek, looking off into the night.

"Legolas," She whispered knowing he'd hear her, "Are you alright?"

He turned to her, his blonde hair looked silver in the moonlight, and nodded, "I'm sorry I lost control back there, it's just infuriating especially because I used to be one of them."

"One of them?"

"At first, the only human I liked as Aragorn and I had serious disdain for humans and dwarves alike, I thought them lesser than myself because they aren't immortal," He gave her a slight smile. "But after the War of the Ring I realize how mistaken I was, Gimli is one of my best friends and you-"

He paused.

"And me?" She asked, pushing him along. He stepped closer to her.

"Are important to me too," His nose wrinkled. "Is that whiskey I smell on your breath?"

Eowyn's cheeks burned red, "Uh yes, I was cold and me and Gimli shared a flask."

Legolas smirked, "Well as long as you're not drunk and trying to ride dragons I guess I can't say anything about the drinking."

"I always wondered what it'd be like to fly a dragon," She smiled.

"Cold I imagine, the sky is very cold," Legolas led her over to a rock and they both sat down and looked at the stars. "Or at least that's what Frodo told me from riding an Eagle."

"Do you think we'll make it to Moria tomorrow?" Eowyn wondered.

"Yes, we're so close, I think it might be safe to take the road again tomorrow, that black dragon is sure to get its fill from eating the silver, I don't think we'll be seeing it again."

"I hope so," A icy breeze passed around them and Eowyn pulled her fur cloak closer to herself.

"Sorry, I don't carry whiskey to keep fair maidens warm like my dwarf friend," He grinned and she couldn't help but smile. He took off his cloak and wrapped it around her. "This is elven linen, it'll keep you warmer than alcohol ever could."

He was right, the thin clothed cloak was already absorbing her body heat and keeping her warm. It must have some special sort of spell sewn into it, "Thank you, I guess Saruman is right, the elves truly do hate the other creatures of Middle Earth now."

"Yes," Legolas sighed. "It's far worse than I wanted you to know, the elves have always thought themselves to be the dominant species of Middle Earth but it has grown to new heights, after Aragorn's wedding I got a letter from my father Thandruill, he told me to return to the Greenwood immediately, that I wasn't allowed to be around such lesser creatures."

"Wow! Of course you didn't go home."

"Yes, it's caused a rift between me and my father, I'm his only heir and he has always been really harsh on me to make me better, I've always been a good, obedient son, there was no reason to rebel," Legolas placed his hand in his palm. "But I can't idly stand by while he threatens my friends, did you ever have the same problem with your family?"

"No, my parents died when me and Eomer were very young, our uncle Theoden took us in and we were close to him and our cousin Theodred. But it wasn't long before Grima Wormtongue arrived and destroyed our family. He manipulated my uncle, it was as if we didn't know him anymore, when Theodred died and Wormtongue was able to banish my brother, that beast of a man turned his attention to me. I was so glad when you four appeared in our castle," She smiled at Legolas.

Legolas appeared to be choosing his next words carefully, "I'm sorry, I knew your parents had passed, I should've known better to ask."

She put a hand up to stop him, "It's perfectly alright, I'm not offended or anything. It was my segway into saying that I care for you, Gandalf, Aragorn and Gimli like family for all you've done for me and Eomer."

"Now you're trying to flatter me-" A crash in the woods interrupted Legolas and he pulled out his bow, notching an arrow in the blink of an eye. Eowyn rememberd her sword this time and pulled Witchslayer from its sheath, it's blade wasn't glowing blue so no orcs or goblins were near.

"What is it Legolas? What's your elf vision catching that I'm not?" She whispered.

His eyes were narrowed and scanned the trees, "Some sort of large animal. If we were at my home in the Greenwood I'd say it was a giant spider, it must be some other sort of large animal."

They heard a howl cut through the night air.

"Wargs," Legolas cursed.

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_**Cliffhanger! **_

_**It takes long hours to plot, write and edit! Please leave a review, they really make my day and let me know it has all been worth the effort! :] **_


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